Device for making double gummed tabs from single coated cellophane tape



May 23, 1967 P. SMITH 3,320,834

DEVICE FOR MAKING DOUBLE GUMMED TABS FROM SINGLE COATED CELLOPHANE TAPE Filed March 5, 1966 mvm-ron PAUL SM/TH A TTOE/VEV United States Patent 3,320,834 DEVICE FOR MAKING DOUBLE GUMMED TABS FROM SINGLE COATED CELLOPHANE TAPE Paul Smith, 29 Whitcomb Drive, Grosse Pointe Farm, Mich. 48236 Filed Mar. 3, 1966, Ser. No. 531,487 3 Claims. (Cl. 813) This invention relates to a hand tool for making doublegummed tabs from conventional cellophane tape that has adhesive on only one side.

There are many uses for double-gummed tabs, that is, tabs which have adhesive on both sides, such as mounting photographs and clippings in albums and applying decorations or bows to gifts or Christmas packages. Other uses for double-gumrned tabs are well known and need not be detailed herein.

Tape coated on both sides with an adhesive is commercially available but few people buy it because they have only limited use for it and they do not want to bother keeping it on hand. However, most homes and offices have available conventional cellophane tape which is coated with adhesive on only one side. The conventional single-coated cellophane tape cannot be conveniently formed into a double-gummed tab by hand because it is difficult to handle and its adhesive properties are reduced when it comes in contact with a persons fingers.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a hand tool for use in making double-gummed tabs from conventional single-coated cellophane tape.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hand tool, as aforesaid, which can be manufactured at very low cost so that it can be sold at a very low price or even given away as a promotional item.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hand tool, as aforesaid, in which the tool can be used to apply the tab to the object to which it is to be attached without the user touching the tab with his fingers.

Other objects and advantages of the invention Will become apparent to persons acquainted with devices of this type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the hand tool of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIGURES 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are plan views which illustrate the various relative positions of the tool and the tape during the formation of a double-gummed tab.

FIGURES 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d are sectional views which correspond to FIGURES 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d, respectively, and taken along a representative section line IVIV in FIGURE 3a.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a modification of the invention.

Referring to FIGURES 1 through 4, the hand tool includes a one-piece body member 11 which can be made of a suitable plastic material or metal. The body member 11 has a handle portion 12 which is of such size and shape that it can be conveniently grasped by the user in order that the tool can be manipulated as hereinafter further described. The body member 11 has a blade portion 13 which is thin and flat (FIGURE 2) and of substantially rectangular configuration in plan view. The corners of the blade portion 13 are rounded and it may be desired to taper the side edges 14 and 16 of said blade portion in a direction away from the handle portion so that the tab can be slipped off said blade portion more easily. In this embodiment of the invention the blade portion 13 is solid and imperforate.

A pin 17 is secured to the blade portion 13 on the underside thereof substantially midway between the side edges 14 and 16 of said blade portion. The point of the 3,3ZlL834 Patented May 23, 1967 pin 17 projects forwardly beyond the forward edge 15 of the blade portion 13. The pin 17 can be secured to the blade portion 13 in any suitable fashion and, in the illustrated embodiment, the same is effected by wrapping a tape 19 around the blade portion 13 and the pin 17. Thus, one end of the pin 17 is attached to the blade portion 13 and the remainder of the pin is offset downwardly from the under surface of said blade portion. It will be apparent that the pin 17 can be secured to the blade por tion 13 in a variety of different ways, such as by an adhesive. Thus, the particular way of effecting this attachment shown in the drawing should be considered as being merely illustrative and having no limiting significance.

The pin 17 forms with the underside of the blade 13 a thin slot 21 for receiving the tape as hereinafter further described. The pin 17 preferably is of very small thickness and has a rounded cross-section so that it has only a limited area of contact with the tape, as hereinafter further described, in order to make it possible for the tab to be easily removed from the hand tool 10.

Referring to FIGURE 5, there is illustrated a hand tool 19A which is generally similar to a hand tool 10 previously described. Accordingly, corresponding reference numerals with the suffix A added thereto are used to refer to the corresponding parts. In this embodiment, the hand tool 10A is made of a one piece stamping and the pin 17A is formed by cutting and displacing the central forward portion of the blade downwardly with respect to the remainder of the blade portion 13A with said pin remaining united to the blade only at the rearward end thereof. There are formed two slots 22 and 23 between the opposite sides of the pin 17A and the opposing edges of the blade portion 13A. In all other respects, the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 5 is the same as that illustrated in FIGURE 1 and can be used in the same fashion. This embodiment has the advantage that it is less expensive to manufacture than the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1.

Operation Referring to FIGURES 3 and 4, the hand tool 10 is used in conjunction with a roll R of cellophane tape T supported in a suitable conventional holder 24 (illustrated in FIG. 3a only), said holder having a cutting edge E spaced a selected distance forwardly of the tape roll. The pin 17 is slid beneath the underside of the tape and the blade portion 13 is placed over the tape, the tool 10 at this time being held close to the cutting edge E as illustrated in FIGURE 3a. The projection of the pin 17 forwardly of the blade 13 greatly facilitates this positioning of the tool 10 with respect to the tape. As will be apparent, the underside of the adhesive tape has the adhesive coating thereon and said adhesive comes in contact only with the small pin surface. Thus, the amount of adhesive engagement between the tape and the hand tool is small thereby enabling an easy removal of the tab from the blade 13. It is to be noted that the entire width of the blade position 13 in FIGURE 3a is not positioned over the entirety of the tape, rather it is positioned so that the cut edge of the tape is spaced from one side edge of the blade so that the tape will not wrap itself around the pin 17 and thus make the removal of the tab from the hand tool more difficult.

Formation of the double-gummed tab is effected by folding the tape back upon itself a total of three times. That is, the hand tool 10 is rotated about the axis of the pin 17 in a counterclockwise direction a total of three half-turns so that the blade portion 13 moves toward the tape roll. In this fashion, the adhesive-coated surface of the tape is continuously exposed on the outside of the tab being formed on the hand tool. When three such half- 3 turns of the hand tool have been made, there will have been formed a tab as illustrated in FIGURE 4d in which the adhesive coated surface of the tape faces outwardly over the entire surface of the tab. The tab consists essentially of four thicknesses of the tape. By the time the hand tool has been rotated counterclockwise through three half-turns, it willbe close to the tape roll. In order to obtain the finished double-gummed tab, the hand tool is moved bodily away from the tape roll past the cutting edge E on the holder and then the hand tool is moved downwardly transverse to the cutting edge in order to cut the tape in a well understood fashion. The tab remains on the hand tool and the tape roll is ready for use again. The only contact of the adhesive on the tab with the tool 10 will be at the pin 17. Thus, the tab can he slipped endwise off the tool quite easily. If desired, the double-gummed tab can he slipped ofi the end of the hand tool 10 at this time or it can be allowed to remain on the hand tool until it is applied to the workpiece. In this regard, it will be noted that by leaving the doublegummed tab on the hand tool 10, it will not be necessary for the user to touch it during installation. The tab thus can be applied to whatever object it is to be used with by merely pressing the tab lightly against the object and, when such occurs, the tab will easily slide off the hand tool when the hand tool is pulled therefrom.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URE 5 can be used in the same fashion with the same results and, hence, is not believed to require further discussion.

While a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, the invention contemplates such further modifications or changes therein as lie within the scope of the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A tool for making double-gummed tabs from tape coated with an adhesive on one side, comprising:

a thin flat blade portion having a generally rectangular outline in plan view;

an elongated thin pin of small width on the blade portion and spaced downwardly from the underside thereof, said pin projecting frontwardly beyond the front edge of said blade portion, said pin and said blade portion forming a slot of small thickness which is open at the frontward end thereof and into which a tape can be received.

2. A tool according to claim 1, in which said blade portion is imperforated and unbroken so that it presents a smooth surface and in which the pin is mounted on the underside of said blade portion substantially midway between the side edges thereof.

3. A tool according to claim 1, in which said blade portion and said pin are integral with each other and are made from a single sheet of material, the pin being formed by cutting and displacing downwardly a central portion of said sheet with said pin remaining united to said sheet only at the rearward end thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 28,444 4/1898 Richardson 30322 X 1,977,103 10/1924 Wise 242-6O X FOREIGN PATENTS 20,337 1914 Great Britain.

OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A TOOL FOR MAKING DOUBLE-GUMMED TABS FROM TAPE COATED WITH AN ADHESIVE ON ONE SIDE, COMPRISING: A THIN FLAT BLADE PORTION HAVING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR OUTLINE IN PLAN VIEW; AN ELONGATED THIN PIN OF SMALL WIDTH ON THE BLADE PORTION AND SPACED DOWNWARDLY FROM THE UNDERSIDE THEREOF, SAID PIN PROJECTING FRONTWARDLY BEYOND THE FRONT EDGE OF SAID BLADE PORTION, SAID PIN AND SAID BLADE PORTION FORMING A SLOT OF SMALL THICKNESS WHICH IS OPEN AT THE FRONTWARD END THEREOF AND INTO WHICH A TAPE CAN BE RECEIVED. 